Here’s another recent review from my trip to NYC a few weeks ago. Of everything I tried during my stay in New York, this was my absolute favorite of the bunch. This Linkwood bottled by Exclusive Malts is from a single sherry cask. It was distilled in 1997 and aged for 18 years before being bottled in 2016. It clocks in at 46.3% ABV, sitting perfectly at the NCF threshold. It’s interesting that it dropped to under 50% ABV after 18 years. Greedy angels, eh? In any case, let’s get to it!
[table2 caption=”Linkwood 18 Year 1997 (Exclusive Malts) – 46.3% abv” colalign=”center|left”]
Category|Notes
Appearance|Rust
Nose|I’m really starting to get a feel for Linkwood’s house style. Biscuits, jammy, red berries, merlot grapes, some oak in the background. A bit perfume-y after some time.
Taste|Juicy, baking spice, Sherry, prunes, if bottled cherry juice was a thing…bottled cherry juice, lots of raisins, raspberry coulis, tannins, syrupy.
Finish|Spice comes crashing through at first followed by vanilla, cherry cough drops, and some mellow oak. Some overripe banana and caramel follow. Decent length.
Overall Thoughts|Sherrybomb. Linkwood. NCF. What more can I ask for? This is a distillery that never disappoints no matter how many different expressions I try.
Total Score|92/100
[/table2]
